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December 6, 2019

Should You Keep the Bubbles in Your Glass Instead of the Bath?

women's vaginal hygiene

Bubble Bath and Women’s Vaginal Hygiene

That bubble bath you love so much might not be that good for you. If you care about women’s health, you’re probably familiar with the importance of maintaining women’s vaginal hygiene. However, many women aren’t aware of a very common problem that is often caused by taking a luxurious, sweet-smelling bath in the tub.

Why Baths Can Ruin Good Feminine Hygiene

After a long, stressful day, we don’t blame you for wanting a relaxing, candle-lit bubble bath. Women’s health is more than just focusing on your reproductive system, and warm baths can be great when your body needs to hit that reset button and destress every once in a while. Unfortunately, many liquid bubble baths, bath bombs, and bath salts don’t contain vagina-friendly ingredients and cause you unwanted stress later on. If you’ve never used a bath bomb before, they usually are in the shape of a ball and come in many different colors, textures, and scents. Once you drop them into a tub full of warm water, they fizz and release several different ingredients, like glitter, fragrance, and even dried flowers. It depends on the bath bomb you choose, but most of them contain harmful chemicals and dyes that you shouldn’t be putting anywhere near your vagina because they can cause irritation and itchiness. If you start scratching yourself without realizing it, you could even make tiny scratch marks and run the risk of infection. When compared to bath salts and bubble baths, bath bombs usually have more of those harmful fragrances and dyes, so be careful what you’re putting in the water.

If you care about your women’s vaginal hygiene or women’s health, be wary of bath bombs.

Speaking of bath salts, just because they aren’t as harmful as bath bombs doesn’t mean they can’t do some serious damage. Again, they can be great for aches and pains in the body, but those tiny colored pieces of salt that give off that fantastic fragrance just aren’t good for women’s vaginal hygiene. Using bath salts can actually change the pH of your vagina, causing it to become unbalanced and increase your chances of developing yeast infections and irritation. As for liquid bubble baths, they can cause vaginal irritation too, especially if you frequently use products that contain heavy soaps and fragrances. While there’s usually less of those dyes and chemicals that are found in bath bombs, liquid bubble baths can still harm you by changing the pH of your vagina and decreasing the amount of ‘good’ bacteria that lives in your system. This will, in turn, cause you to experience rashes, inflammation, burning, yeast infections, and even urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Certain bath products can cause serious side effects, like yeast infections and UTIs.

How to Have a Vagina-Friendly Bath

If you do still want to experience the benefits of bubble baths, while still doing your vagina a favor, there are plenty of changes you can make without sacrificing your relaxation. First and foremost, do everything in moderation. Even if you use better products at bathtime, you still shouldn’t be having baths all the time. Secondly, do switch to better products by using bubble bath or bath salts that are formulated for sensitive skin. Skip out on the fragrances and dyes as much as you can, but also know your body. If your skin can tolerate dyes and fragrances in makeup and other skincare products, then you’re probably safe to use normal bubble baths in moderation. However, if you’re not sure, stick to the fragrance-free stuff. During bathtime, don’t use heaping amounts of products, less is more. Remember that the only part of your vagina you should be washing is the outside of your vulva, and with a mild soap or no soap at all. Do not douche your vagina as it cleanses itself, and dry yourself gently yet thoroughly to discourage yeast from growing in warm and humid environments.

We genuinely care about women’s health and women’s vaginal hygiene here at Dr. Susan Fox’s Center for Women. Make sure to give us a call and check out our website for more information!

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